Wenche Kvalvaag is Service center Manager in Stavanger, and received the nomination on the international Women’s Day, March 8th. While being interviewed by Stavanger Aftenblad, Wenche says: “What is important for me as a manager is to be engaged, curious and honest (…) I represent Zalaris where we have focus on gender balance and development of woman managers. There are many women in the organization who deserves this nomination as much as me. Why they chose me I cannot answer. But I hope I can be a role model and contribute to others wanting to take on more responsibility”.
Almost three out of four who work in IT companies are men, shows figures from TNS Gallup, and in top management it’s even thinner, only 17 percent are women. The purpose of celebrating Norway’s 50 foremost tech women is to honor women in an industry where they are in minority, and to show others that it is possible to come up and enter management positions for women in a man-made IT industry. There are a lot of skilled technology women out there. We want more women who can be role models, and to show that there are various career opportunities for women who are considering a career in tech.
The award is part of the STAR program, (where Zalaris also participates), which aims to increase the number of women in the IT industry in general and among IT leaders in particular. The jury’s criteria are that candidates should be from business and working with direct value-creating tasks such as sales, development and production. The award is divided into three categories: Entrepreneurs, Managers and Professionals. Wenche is in the category of professionals, and we are very proud to have her as our colleague and role model as a manager.
The jury consisted of:
Berit Svendsen, Executive Vice President of Telenor Scandinavia
Anne Grethe Solberg, researcher at the Institute of Labor Research
Jan M Moberg, Managing Director of Teknisk Ukeblad Media AS
Walter Qvam, Chairman of SINTEF and Digital Norway
Kristine Hofer Næss, chairman of the ODA network
Håkon Haugli, Managing Director of Abelia